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Kenco colombian

I absolutely love coffee, its one of my favourite drinks and helps me through the day on quite a few occasions. I must admit that when I can I love nothing better than a shop bought latte but when I have to settle and have instant coffee at home one of my favourite varieties is this Colombian blend from Kenco.

According to an article I read, "Kenco is a brand of instant coffee, and roast & ground coffee, distributed by Kraft Foods in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Originally known as the Kenya Coffee Company, they started distributing coffee to Britain in 1923. Shortly after, they opened a coffee shop in Sloane Squareand then changed their name to Kenco in 1962.In 2008 the brand was relaunched with 75% of the beans for its instant range being sourced from Rainforest Alliancecertified farms. The company sources their coffee beans from Brazil, Costa Rica,Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, Vietnam andIndonesia."

It's this ethical vibe and sustainability that I really like about the coffee that makes me more inclined to buy it and of course the wonderful taste.

I just cannot drink Nescafé anymore as I find it way too bitter and actually a little bit boring so to have a lovely flavour combination like this Colombian version is great.

The Colombian coffee is described as, "

Balanced & Fruity. It is grown at high altitude in Colombia's tropical climate, this medium roasted, well-balanced coffee treats you to subtle floral aromas and a fruity top note."

As soon as you open the jar you get a lovely fragrance from the granules. Of course being an instant coffee these are freeze dried granules but what I like about them is that they are all small but in lots of small shapes and sizes so I find they mix with hot water really well.

The granules are a lovely creamy brown colour and not bitter or too dark so when you add a bit of milk you get this lovely medium strength, easy to drink, smooth, fruity flavoured coffee. It is perfect for a relaxing afternoon coffee and I find it goes well with a sweet accompaniment.

The coffee comes in a nice see through glass jar with a plastic lid that I find keeps the granules nice and fresh. I buy my jars in the 100g size which lasts well over a month for me and costs £4.99.

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Better than all the rest

PURE Colombian coffee is grown at high altitude in Colombia's tropical climate. The result is a medium roasted, well-balanced coffee with subtle underlying floral aromas, a fruity top note, and a taste that's simply perfect.

The illustration above show's an old version of the product as the one we have purchased during the last year (mainly through Sainsbury's on-line) is labelled 'Kenco Pure Colombian' and not 'Purely'.

This is without doubt the best instant coffee I have tried and the closest you can get to ground coffee through an espresso machine, filter or other device, in my opinion. The quality is superb: balanced and fruity with a great aroma.

I used to buy Nescafe Gold Blend which still makes a pretty good cup of instant coffee, but Kenco Pure Colombian is infinitely superior. The equivalent 100g jar of Gold Blend is currently £2.78 at Sainsbury, this Kenco product is just 15p more which is a small amount to pay for higher quality coffee.

Colombian is one of a range of four Kenco Pure coffees the others being Peruvian, Brazilian and Costa Rican. Of the other three, I have tried only Peruvian which is much stronger. Colombian is more balanced (medium roast strength 3) with no bitter after taste. It's made using high quality Arabica beans which are ethically sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. Buying a jar helps coffee farming communities build a better future and protect the environment. More info is on: www.rainforest-alliance.org

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Great alternative to perculated

Kenco Colombian is one of the best instant coffees you can buy in my eyes. It really is a good quality coffee and one of the nicest I have tried in a long time. You feel like you are buying real quality here, really great flavours from Kenco on this one. I suppose this is the "deluxe" version of Kenco's line of various coffees.

The look?

Once the water is added it looks thickish for a coffee and has a lovely froff to it before you add the milk, once the milk is added you can tell it is a stronger more bodied coffee as you would with a perculated coffee. It has a good body to it and looks the part.

Price?

100 grams will cost you around £3.25, although Asda keep putting this on offer at 2 100 gram jars for £5. You only need to use a flat teaspoon per cup as this is a fuller flavoured coffee than some of its rivals and offers a strong thicker coffee no heaping necessary. For ground coffee you may feel this is a bit steep but it does last a long time and does work out as good value as less is used per brew.

About the Taste?

This tastes just like perculated coffee; this coffee itself is rich and smooth in taste and tastes so heavenly. This is 100 % pure Colombian so is what it says on the jar. I am drinking more coffee than ever and this is purely down the this particular brand being to my liking.

Conclusion?

Great rich flavours, a really great coffee, well worth paying that bit extra for as this will last you.

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This truly is the cream of the crop of all instant coffees

A beautifully flavoured, strong and rich, yet smooth blend of coffee. It also has a really good colour, tinged with a golden hue rather than the muddy appearance that some specialist instant coffees can have.

Kenco coffee is always reasonably priced, and all of their coffees I find appealing and tasty, but this one for me is by far the best of even their own varieties on offer.

If you are a serious coffee lover, I am sure you will be impressed with this particular Kenco variety.

For me, it is the closest to real, brewed coffee made with fresh beans, out of all the instant coffees available on our supermarket shelves. It also tastes equally good with or without milk/cream, or whatever you use to whiten your coffee with.

I always make sure I have two jars, as from a taste point of view, I find it very "more-ish" and tend to drink double the amount of this coffee than I would any other brand or any other Kenco variety, simply because it is so delicious and I can't stop at one.

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~ ~ This addiction of mine to caffeine, or more specifically to the caffeine found in coffee, is really starting to go beyond the pale. Since discovering the joys of Kenco “Really Rich”, (thanks to a brilliant opinion from Keith/snappy) my consumption of the damned stuff has increased to the point where I am now rarely to be found without a mug of it within easy reach. I’ve even bought myself a large flask that I keep in the boot of my taxi, so that I no longer have to suffer the indignity of having to drink the muck that they pass off as coffee in some of the garages and small cafes around my home city of Dublin. ~ ~ One evening recently, I noticed the coffee jar was running a bit low, so I asked my wee lass (she’s eleven) to pick me up another jar at the local Spar supermarket. (she was off to buy one of her favourite Barbie comics) She arrived back to tell me that she couldn’t find any Really Rich, but that she’s bought me a jar of “new” stuff. My immediate reaction was not one of unadulterated pleasure. “What muck has she come back with now”, I thought. “Please God, don’t let it be that awful Maxwell House rubbish!” But no. It was Kenco coffee right enough, but a blend I hadn’t noticed before, called “Purely Colombian”. Never a fella to be accused of being afraid to try something new, on went the kettle, and a (strong) brew was quickly prepared. Well folks, it may have been bought by accident on the first occasion, but never again, as it is now firmly ensconced in the ‘mad cabbies’ favourite list when he does his shopping. This coffee is quite simply delicious! A true nectar straight from heaven! (Sorry, make that Bogota!) ~ ~ A bit of background now. Despite the fact that it has taken me all this time to discover it, Kenco Colombian coffee has actually been around since 1995, when it was launched alon g with Kenco’s other “single country of origin” blends from Kenya and Costa Rica. In 1998, it was re-launched under its present marketing banner of Purely Colombian. What this means, simply, is that the coffee beans used in its production are all sourced and bought in Colombia, a country renowned as having the almost ideal climate for the production of good coffee. Not only this, but Kenco are currently contributing 10 pence from every 100g jar of coffee sold to the WWF, (World Wide Fund for Nature) which goes towards improving the lot of poor coffee growers back in Columbia. Colombia actually produces no less than 12% of all the coffee grown in the world (second only to Brazil). The coffee grown in Colombia is exclusively “Arabica”, which is recognised as being probably the highest quality grown anywhere. It is also all “washed” before it is sold on, a process that gets rid of many of the impurities and acid in the beans, thus helping to release the true flavour of the coffee. Kenco then “freeze dry” (as distinct from roasting) the beans, a process that they believe gives the coffee a richer and fuller flavour. (You wont catch me arguing with that!) Kenco Purely Colombian has a slightly more acidic taste than their “Really Rich” blend, and a little more bite, but it still tastes absolutely wonderful, and slips down the old throat like pure silk. ~ ~ It comes in a brightly coloured glass jar, and thus far, I have only been able to find it in 100g size. The first jar that I bought cost €3.99, (£2.50 Sterling ) which is quoted on a label on the top as being a “Special Trial Price”. Since then, I have been paying €4.63 (£2.90 Sterling) in my local Tesco, so it is a little more expensive than the Really Rich blend that sells at €3.67 (£2.30 Sterling) for the same size. But it is well worth the difference, in this lad’s opinion. < br>I haven’t given up the Really Rich though, which I still think is terrific, and now drink either/or of the two different blends as the fancy takes me. No ingredients list to report to you with this product folks, as it is what it says on the jar. 100% pure Colombian coffee. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now I suppose I’ll have to get my hands on a jar of their Kenyan and Costa Rican coffees as well! (ops to follow) ~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A rich and aromatic pure Colombian coffee blend. The seductive smooth flavour and charismatic aroma of this Colombian coffee derives from the hand picked beans that are dried in the baking heat of the South American sun.